


Speed Dating

by asoulofstars



Series: A Mess You Would Wear With Pride [9]
Category: Psych (TV 2006)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Flirting, Friendship, Speed Dating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:13:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27748069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asoulofstars/pseuds/asoulofstars
Summary: Shawn thinks it'd be fun to get the forensic specialist OUT of the morgue for once, and they already have an event lined up for a case.
Relationships: Shawn Spencer/Original Female Character(s), Shawn Spencer/Riona Gallagher
Series: A Mess You Would Wear With Pride [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2028376
Kudos: 2





	Speed Dating

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously a tag to "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, He Loves Me, Oops He's Dead". Obviously headcanon heavy here, but Riona adores her coworkers and their consultants.

“You know, why don’t we get Riona in on this, too?” Shawn offered. “Jules can’t cover all those women on her side alone. She and Riona can comb the suspects more.”

~~(Interim)~~ Chief Vick looked at him, and he tried to remain casual. It was a completely innocent suggestion. And he had been wanting to get Riona out of that dreary little morgue. She was too bright for the place. She deserved to see the fun parts of cases.

“You know, that’s a good idea, Mr. Spencer. Why don’t you go tell her?” Chief Vick smiled.

“Great! Thanks, Chief!” Shawn turned to exit the office.

Gus followed beside him, and he could feel his best friend’s eyes on him.

“What?” He turned his hands out in the universal _spit it out_ gesture.

“Are you sure there’s nothing going on with Riona?” Gus asked.

“It’s just sad that she’s always stuck down in that morgue. She shouldn’t be trapped with dead bodies all the time.” Shawn shrugged; sure, he liked Riona. She was cute, and he could listen to her talk forever. (Being denied the opportunity to talk his thoughts out the way he wanted to as a kid made him much more willing to listen to others who wanted to talk, even if he was bad at interrupting people when his brain screamed at him to respond.)

“That’s her job, Shawn. That’s what she chose to do.” Gus was just giving him that look that made Shawn feel like Gus wasn't saying _everything_.

“Yeah, I know. She’s working to give other people closure. But we can all see how much every case weighs on her. It’ll be good to get her out.”

They approached the morgue, and Shawn gave a quick rap at the door, knowing how easy it was to startle Riona otherwise.

“Dr. Gallagher! Chief Vick has a task for you!” he called, sing-song tone for her name.

Riona emerged from her office, and she put her hands on her hips. “I thought we were past formalities, _Mr. Spencer_ ,” she replied.

He grinned. “Well, Riona, get out of that lab coat and get ready to go out for a round of speed dating.”

Riona blinked at him, tilting her head. “What now?” she asked.

“Speed dating! Come on, it’ll be fun! And you really don’t have to change. You dress all pretty every day, even if we don’t get to see it under that lab coat.” He gave her a more charming smile.

“You know, you can’t just compliment me and flash me a smile to get me to do what you want." She rolled her eyes affectionately. " _But_ , I will come. Who all is going?”

“Us, Jules, and Lassie,” Shawn replied.

“Okay, yeah, I’m coming,” Riona said.

~*~

Riona found herself in a group of women, talking excitedly about the men wandering about the room. She couldn’t help but scan the crowd for Shawn. She wondered exactly why the psychic has brought her out with them, and she couldn’t wait to end up at the same table as him. Six uninterrupted minutes where he also didn’t have Gus right there and she could just get to talk to him.

The women were mostly just fawning over their favorites by looks, and Riona found herself chewing on her bottom lip as she listened to them compliment Shawn. It wasn’t exactly jealousy; Shawn was attractive, and he knew it, which made him even more eye-catching. She had zero claim on him, even though she was crushing on the psychic. But it still made her stomach knot up.

She watched as everyone sat at tables, and she chose to start near Lassiter. She thought it would be helpful for him to have a familiar face at the start. He moved to her table and blinked awkwardly at her.

“I’m not that intimidating, am I?” she asked with a small smile.

“No, you’re not. But you’re also not someone I think about like that.” He crossed his arms.

“You’re not someone I think about like that, either,” Riona told him. “But that doesn’t mean you have to be so defensive. You were my first friend after I moved here.”

“Really? _Me_?” he asked, hands falling to the table.

“Yes. I was fresh out of grad school, applied literally everywhere I could, and I took the job that got me farthest away from Wellesley. And I came here knowing absolutely nothing about Santa Barbara or California in general, and the Head Detective realized after like three crime scenes with me that I was alone. And he started bringing me lunch or just checking to see if I was okay, and he was the reason I started feeling at home here.” Riona smiled a soft smile, eyes looking into his. “Yes, you’re awkward with people, but so am I. Just for different reasons. You’re too defensive sometimes, and I’m way too open. But you’re good at what you do, and you didn’t let anything stop you when it came to showing me that I did have someone.”

“I…I never knew that. Why didn’t you ever tell me that?” He fidgeted with the napkin.

“Because, I know you don’t like people making a big deal over you. But I always appreciated it. You’re a really good cook.”

Lassiter smiled at her.

The bell dinged, and they switched tables. She was relatively bored with the men here. She wasn’t really looking for a relationship; she mostly came to observe her coworkers. She loved just watching people. Shawn was very obviously enjoying himself. He was good at making small talk. Lassiter looked like he had a metal rod for a spine, and he acted more like a robot than a person. She knew dating wasn’t easy for him, though, and that this was not something he ever would have chosen to do. Not to mention, Lassiter just ended up interrogating his dates, even though this was supposed to _not_ be an interrogation. Gus was making small talk, but he wasn’t as natural as Shawn was. They were trying to gather clues, and Gus was not good at getting questions out related to those clues in a way that sounded at all easy going. Juliet seemed to be surprisingly at ease. But she and Juliet had it easy at the tables. They weren’t looking for a man, and this venue was not a place where they were going to find any same-sex match ups. So they could relax, and Juliet was clearly being open about herself.

Riona answered questions and asked a few of her own, but the only one really keeping her attention was Shawn. She knew that it was probably not a great idea to crush on the psychic detective. He was a flirt, and he was definitely not the settle down type. But she couldn’t help it. He would have done well as a bird. He was the loudest, shiniest, with the baubles. No one could help but look at him. He was even attracting other women's attention from their less eye-catching dates. She wasn't really surprised.

It wasn’t until Gus was at her table that she relaxed a little bit more. She and Gus had been becoming fast friends as they both liked going to the planetarium. After realizing they’d be working together, and Shawn blew things for Gus with Jessica, they made it a weekly thing to go to the planetarium together.

“So, has Shawn caught onto the fact that we hang out?” Riona asked Gus curiously.

“I don’t think so,” Gus said. “For some reason, the planetarium is on his _too nerdy_ list, even though he’s interested in space. We used to question his dad about any UFO sightings as kids.”

Riona giggled. She really didn’t think Shawn was one for a _too nerdy_ list. While he was, at times, cool, he was also just as nerdy as anyone else around.

“What else do you like, Gus?” she asked.

“Tap dancing is my biggest passion,” he said. “It helps me relax.”

“I would love to see you do it sometime,” she told him. “I never did tap, but I like dancing.”

Gus beamed at her. “How about our next planetarium night, you come over for dinner, and I’ll dance?”

“That sounds amazing.” Riona grinned back at him.

The bell dinged before they could converse much more, but Riona found herself a little more relaxed. Talking with Gus was just so easy, and Gus’ voice was soothing. She enjoyed spending time with him, and she liked that all these people in her life kept offering her food.

And then Shawn was in front of her. She felt her heart pick up speed, and she gave him a small smile.

“Well, hello,” Shawn said. “I guess we have six minutes together. Any questions you’ve been longing to ask me?”

Riona shook her head at him. “None that I’ve been _longing_ to ask you. But, your skills are quite impressive. I mean, you solved a case with a cat. I thought I was the only one who talked to cats.”

Shawn laughed. “Your Freyja is a talker. But all animals have something to say if you just listen to them.”

Riona smiled a small smile and chewed on her bottom lip. Shawn’s eyes gleamed, and he took one of her hands in his.

“What kind of stone is this?” he asked, running his thumb over the ring on her left hand.

“It’s a star sapphire! In the sunlight, a star forms in the middle of the gem.” She moved her hand just out of his reach to get it to catch in the artificial light. “It’s really faint when it’s not sunlight, but you can see it.”

“Oh, that’s so cool!” Shawn twisted her hand back and forth. “And then this one?” He tapped the silver ring on her right hand.

“It’s my Claddagh ring. It’s Irish. The hands represent friendship, the crown represents loyalty, and the heart, well….” She trailed off. “It signifies the person’s relationship depending on how it’s worn, though most people don’t know that. I’m single, so crown is facing towards me on my right hand. If I’m in a serious relationship, I’d turn it around with the heart facing me on my right hand. Engaged is crown facing me on my left hand, and married is heart facing me on my left hand.”

Shawn rubbed his thumb over that one, and she was sure that he could feel her pulse quicken in her fingertips. She could barely hear anything else over the sound in her ears.

“They’re very you,” he said. “And they both fit pretty well under your gloves for work.”

“Yeah. Don’t really plan on taking either of them off ever.” Riona flexed her fingers.

Shawn put his fingers up to his temple. “You won’t. And some day, you’ll have that Claddagh on your left hand with initials engraved in the heart, and the date of your wedding in the band.”

Riona flushed, astounded by how well he knew her and flattered by his confidence. “Thanks, Shawn. I’m glad I came out tonight.”

“Me, too,” he said.

The bell dinged, and she wondered idly how well they matched on their questionnaires. She really _did_ like Shawn, and the thought that they might be compatible warmed her, even if she knew it'd never happen.


End file.
